


Missing You

by Arbor_Queen



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Eventual Smut, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, No Batman, Pre-Relationship, mature for later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-12 11:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9069136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbor_Queen/pseuds/Arbor_Queen
Summary: Timothy Drake is in his second year of College at Metropolis Technology University, but his boyfriend, Jason Todd, is all the way back in Gotham. The two manage a long distance relationship just fine while juggling work, school, and cats all at the same time, but sometimes they just really need to see each other, even if its just a weekend.





	1. Star Wars and Star Trek

So if the stock market rises on your company by 5% and then the next day it crashes by 9%.......then the company will…..no that’s not right switch the two figures there…

_DODODODODODODODO DO DODODODODODODODO DO_

“Tim.”

So if the two figures are switched there then the profit of the company would double. There is a possibility that the company will also want to have a charity like the Wayne foundation.

_DO DODODODODODODODODOD DO_

“Tim.”

Most companies are not like the Wayne foundation so probably only a small percent of wages-

“Timothy!”

“Huh? What?” Tim looked up from his notes when his roommate hit him in the head with a pillow.

“Honestly Drake, I don’t know what is more depressing, the fact that you are so deep into your studies that you didn’t notice your phone ringing, or that your ring tone is the default setting.”

Tim looked down at his cell phone that sat next to his note book. Sure enough there was one missed call. Lit up on the small screen was Tim’s plain default background and a banner across the top that read _1 new missed call from Jason T_. Jason would call him at this time of night. It was probably just him ranting about his roommate again.

“There is nothing wrong with the default ringtone, Bart.”

“Ya, for a grandma.”

_DING!_

_DING! DING!_

_DING! DING!_ _DING! DING!_ _DING! DING!_ _DING! DING!_

Bart threw another pillow at Tim and rolled over on his bunk trying to block out the dinging of Tim’s phone signifying that he had a text message.

“Whoever it is really wants your attention so take the dang call before I go insane.”

Without another word between the two of them, Tim got out of his desk chair and took his phone out into the common room. He made sure that the room was empty and the door behind him was closed. It was fine to be closed as long as he had his ID to unlock it. Tim sat down on the plush couch in the dimly lit room before turning off his sound putting his phone of vibrate. If Jason was going to blow up his phone he didn’t need all of his suite mates waking up in annoyance. Even as he was reading the previous messages Jason was sending him more.

**_Tim answer ur phone_ **

**_Tim!_ **

**_Tim I know ur up_ **

**_I need u 2 back me up on this Tim_ **

**_God damn it Tim get ur nose out of the books and pay attention to me!_ **

**_If u don’t answer me I might end up in jail_ **

**_Come on Timmy answer me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ **

**_Babe_ **

**_Babe_ **

**_Babe_ **

**_Babe_ **

**_Babe_ **

God Tim adored Jason but at the same time Jason was like an angry cat when he didn’t get attention. Tim laid back against the arm of the couch and settled in for what could be either a furious texting session or a really long phone call.

_I really wish you would use proper grammar when you text. It drives me up the wall._

**_HA! I knew u were up!_ **

**_Okay so listen_ **

**_Roy thinks that Star Wars and Star Trek are the same thing!_ **

And there he was. There was the wonderfully nerdy ass hole who was slowly killing Tim’s phone battery. That was why Jason probably tried to call him first. He always preferred to text, even if his lack of grammar irritated Tim, in normal conversations, but if Jason P. Todd wanted to rant he would call and be yelling and ranting even before Tim could say hello.

_Do you want to call me about it?_

**_Fuck ya I do_ **

Tim waited for the call and by the time he had answered it Jason was already yelling.

 _“Okay so listen,”_ Tim groaned and sat back against the couch. Jason was not someone easily animated unless someone he cared about was in danger….or he’d been drinking. Clearly there wasn’t anyone in danger other than maybe Roy, Jason’s roommate so it had to be either he was really, really fired up or he’d been out drinking.  _“I’ve told Roy that this is a serious matter that needs to be fixed but he won’t listen to me. I need you to talk nerdy to him and make him see because I can’t really do that right now.”_

“Jason.”

_“Don’t have that tone with me. I’ve only had a few tonight. I’m not drunk.”_

“Alright so tell me what is wrong with Roy?”

 _“Okay so listen.”_ There was some muffled talking from Jason’s side of the call. _“Shut up Harper this is far more important than what he’s wearing right now. Which you will tell me Tim but this is serious business. I’ve told him. Star Trek is an enterprise, yes pun intended, based on science and research and exploration with several different shorter plots from different seasons, movies and generations that occasionally relate to one another. Like in the new movies when new Spock getting shit from the Leonard Nemoy Spock. But Star Wars is a linear story with a war based plot and interlocking characters and story arcs that come together to make one complete story that’s been broken up into several movies and lately some new cartoons that some argue are not that they are not part of the actual story line but are like some kind of alternate universe but I say fuck it because it’s a fucking good story.”_

“And the issue is that Roy doesn’t seem to understand these differences?”

_“No he doesn’t! He thinks that they are the same and I’ve proved him wrong so many times and he won’t fucking listen to me!”_

“Jay, ever think he’s trying to piss you off?” The phone call went silent for a moment which just made Tim nervous. It was really quiet before he heard Roy clearly on the other end of the phone, both Jason and Roy sounding far away from the phone.

_Come on Jay-bird it’s just a joke._

_A joke? You don’t joke about Star Teck or Star Wars you uncultured slut!_

_Jason what….FUCK!_

There was a loud crashing and some cussing before it got quiet again and Jason picked up the phone once again. He sounded like he was trying, key word trying, to do the anger breathing techniques that Tim had taught him after a really bad night and Jason had showed up at Tim’s house from a bar fight.

_“Babe?”_

“Jason please tell me you didn’t just kill Roy over Star Trek and Star Wars.”

_“It’s an important issue!”_

“Jason?”

_“No I didn’t kill Roy. I may and or may not have hit him with a pillow… a lot…”_

“Having a pillow fight without me? How rude.”

 _“Our pillow fights don’t end in cussing from pain babe._ ” Tim could practically see the smirk on Jason’s face. Idiot. Tim couldn’t help but smile. He was going to school at Metropolis Technology University and Jason was all the way back in Gotham going to Gotham Community College. That was a good four hour drive away and fuck did Tim want to drive that distance right now. His exams and papers had him stressed so much that he was developing a migraine just thinking about them, which really didn’t help. Main point: Tim missed Jason and wanted nothing more than to see him, and maybe another coffee.

_“Earth to Timbo. You still there babe?”_

“Ya…I’m still here. Hey Jay?”

 _“I know Tim. I miss you too.”_ Jason’s words just made Tim’s chest a bit too tight. He hadn’t realized until he started talking to him just how much he missed being around Jason. Sometimes a Skype call here and there was enough to get him through the month, but it was already midterms and Tim was homesick and boyfriend sick.

_“Hey here’s an idea, I can see if Diana will let me skip my office hours on Friday and come up and spend the weekend with you next weekend. I’d have to leave early in the morning on Monday but I can spend a majority of the weekend with you.”_

“That sounds great. Like really great. I’ll see if I can convince Bart to go home for that weekend.”

_“And we can have the room all to yourselves.”_

“You wish you pervert. I have a test next Monday.”

_“Oh no, no, no. You are not using the only time I will get until Thanksgiving break to see you to study for a test. I’m getting you out of that probably filthy dorm room and getting fresh air and, if I’m lucky, some goddamned sun light.”_

“My room is not that dirty.”

_“Are your clothes in the hamper? Is the trash taken out? Have you done laundry in the past week?”_

Tim thought about his room. His clothes were not in the hamper, but they were around it in a pile. His trash had been taken out last week and mostly what was in it was old papers and empty coffee cups so it wasn’t that bad. Tim looked down at the shirt and sweat pants he was wearing. The sweat pants were only a day old but Tim couldn’t remember the last time he washed the shirt he was wearing. He didn’t like to it was one of the faded t-shirts he’d acquired from Jason before he left for MTU and if he washed the shirt the color might fade.

 _“I’ll take the silence as a no. That room better be clean before I get there because if it’s not I’m going to do it myself and I’ll clean it my way.”_ Jason was one of the neatest people Tim’s ever known. Even his study areas when he’s cramming for a test are neat. Even his notes are color coded. The nerd. “ _I have to keep my apartment clean or my devil of a cat will get into anything and everything.”_

“At least Roy’s cat is calm.”

“ _Ya, I don’t think that I could handle his cat being like Richard.”_ There was a crashing sound. “ _Speak of the fucking devil. Tim, gotta go the little bastard is trying to get out the window again. I want that room clean before I get there.”_

Tim didn’t have time to answer him before he line went dead and he was in silence once again. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he got up and reached into his pocket for his ID…only to find it not there. Tim felt bad for waking up Bart again but he had to get back in. A moment after he knocked on the door he was greeted by an angry, bed headed, sleepy Bart who just glared at him as he opened the door and let it slam shut after Tim got back into the room.

“Sorry Bart.”

“Next time I’m going to let you be locked out and sleep on the couch.” Bart climbed back into his bed and was quickly back asleep. Tim sighed and put his phone on the charger on his desk. His desk was such a mess compared to how he knew Jason kept his. Papers were everywhere, some had coffee stains, books where open and the paper backs had their covers and previous pages folded back to the page that Tim needed. He could already hear Jason’s angry words over Tim’s mistreatment of those books. Heaven help Tim if Jason found out he wrote in the margins and highlighted in most to all of his books.

_Never heard of a goddamned sticky note Drake?!_

Tim smiled at the words echoing in his head. The first time Tim had met Jason it was over a slightly irritating conversation while Tim was trying to study in the GCC library. The library had been packed because it was finals week and the only open chair Tim had found was across this rough, lazy looking guy. The first thing Tim had noticed when he walked up had been the smell of cigarette smoke and the dulled noise of music coming from the guys cheap ear buds. He didn’t even notice Tim until he had set his books down across the table. The guy took out one ear bud and just looked at Tim like it was rude for Tim to set down his books.

“Mind if I sit here? All other seats are taken.”

“Not at all kid.” The guy moved some of his neatly stacked books father over to his side of the table. “What year are you?”

“Senior.” Tim opened his tattered notebook and looked for a blank page to get his homework done.

“Really? You look kinda young for a senior.”

Tim gave him a slightly annoyed look over his glasses before sitting back in his chair realizing the guy thought Tim meant senior in college. “High school. I’m taking college classes as a part of my last year. I’ve already finished or tested out of the courses that they wanted me to take this year so they let me take college courses here before I go to Metropolis Tech.”

The guy had this sort of impressed look, it was hard to read this guy and Tim wasn’t really interested in talking. He really needed to get this outline for English done before tomorrow so his professor could help him make sure it was a solid outline.

“I’m Jason by the way.”

Tim looked up at him over his glasses again and really looked at him. Jason had black hair like Tim did, but he had a white part in his bangs that stood out against the messy black. He wasn’t dark but a light tan that made his green, no blue, and no green….no blue…. Tim couldn’t tell, eyes stand out. They seemed to change color as Jason shifted in his seat. His clothes were just a simple black hoodie and jeans. He didn’t seem like the kind to be in college, but then again so did a lot of Gotham residence.

“Tim Drake.”

They fell into a silence again as Tim worked out his outline and Jason went through a large stack of papers. Tim glanced over and saw that he was grading the giant stack of what Tim figured out were essays. Neat, red handwriting was in the margins along the sides of the paper, almost perfect circles around grammar mistakes. Hand writing that Tim recognized from his own essays.

“You’re the grader for English 1324? Early European Literature.” Jason looked up from his papers and took his ear bud out of his ear again and sat down his red pen.

“Ya I am. I knew I recognized your name from somewhere. I think I just graded your paper. I think. I don’t remember. I definitely remember the last name because Drake is a cool last name. Latin I think for some kind of dragon monster in mythology.”

“Uh ya, I guess. Never looked much into my last name.” Tim opened his text book and flipped through until he found the Starbucks receipt he used as a book mark last night.

“Oh my god, really?”

“What?”

“Never heard of a god damned sticky note, Drake? You’ve made a complete mess of that book.”

Tim frowned and looked down at his book. His messy half asleep hand writing was all over the sides and the bottoms of the pages. Some of the notes where in blue and some in bright green. Sections of the text had been highlighted and in the corner was a very small doodle of an alien that Tim had probably done late last night.

“It’s not a mess. I know where everything is.”

“Clearly with your Starbucks bookmark. What is that? Did you get coffee on the book?”

Tim looked back at the book and sure enough there was a bit of a brownish stain on the inside of the book from that had transferred off the receipt. Okay, maybe his book was a mess but Bruce, his adoptive dad, knew how Tim studied and bought the book for Tim anyways.

“Maybe. What does it matter I bet your books are just as messy.”

Jason reached into his bag and pulled out the same English book that Tim was using, but colorful post-it notes tabbed out from the top and bottom of the pages. Some were labeled but most of them were not. He opened it and showed Tim the same page that he was on. There was no neat or messy handwriting in the margins or highlighting of sections of the text. Everything was marked by a removable post-it note. Not even the corner of the pages were dog eared.

“If you keep the book in good condition, it will last longer and, if need be, resell it once you’re done. I never even so much as dog eared a book because it makes it look horrible and tattered.”

Tim smiled as he changed into his pajamas as his mind came back to the present time. He’d met Jason almost every time he went to the library after their first meeting. If only he had known then that the slightly annoying and neat Gotham boy would be his boyfriend a few months later he would have been nicer to him. Not like it mattered, it had been almost two years and they were still together so obviously something had gone right between them.

Tim climbed up onto his bunk after turning off his desk light and crawled under the warm sheets. He really couldn’t wait to see Jason, but at the same time he was nervous thinking about the test he had on Monday and how he would convince Bart to leave the dorm for a weekend. His mind wouldn’t shut off as normal and he stared up at the ceiling for a while before his phone buzzed down on his desk again. He got a hold of the cord and slowly pulled it up onto the bunk with him. It was Jason texting him.

_Crisis averted!_

_Dumb cat tried to get out of the fucking window_

_U should be asleep_

_Go to bed if ur reading this_

_Nite babe_

Tim fell asleep that night with a smile on his face.


	2. Operation 'Visit boyfriend' is a go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason's daily life and the way he gets the go from his boss to go and see his boyfriend because they need some time to see each other.

_Did you really just write this?_

_Are you sure you wrote this?_

_You didn’t write this._

Jason sat in his room grading the fresh wave of essays from his TA job. In his opinion these stupid kids had no idea how to write. He was sure that he’d read the same essay almost three times now and had set them aside for Diana to look at. He hated doing it, but he valued his job more than those kids’ grades. He knew firsthand how hard Diana’s class was, but it was passable if you paid any attention to what she was saying and had at least a high school level of writing.

So far only a few students had a good grasp on how to write a decent paragraph let alone a whole essay.

Jason leaned back in his desk chair and stretched after sitting there for a few hours. It was calm for once in his apartment. Roy had fallen asleep in his room a few hours ago, his night shift at his job taking its toll from the already sleep deprived man. He was a good roommate though. The noisy bustle of Gotham was drowned out by Jason’s soft classical music that was playing from his lap top. He didn’t listen to it on a normal day, but it was the best thing to help him keep focused while he was studying or grading. All together it’s really peaceful and quiet in his room.

And of course his cat had to ruin it.

“Holy fuck Richard what the literal fuck is wrong with you?” Jason covered his nose as his cat just calmly stepped out of his litter box and jumped up onto Jason’s bed. “Why on earth do your shits always smell so fucking bad? Ugh.” Jason got up and opened the window to let the disgusting smell leave his room. He turned and looked at his cat who just laid on the bed like nothing was wrong.  As much as Jason wanted to get mad at him, he couldn’t be. The little grey Scottish fold was curled up all cutely in the sheets purring. At least he wasn’t trying to get past Jason and out the window, again.

Jason hadn’t even meant to get a cat when he got Richard. He had been on his way back to his apartment from a bar, walking of course. He might be stupid, but not stupid enough to drive after drinking. He’d walked into the alley next to his apartment because he forgot his key and knew he could get into his window through the fire escape. It was like a cheesy movie in Jason’s opinion. Kitten Richard had been in a box near the fire escape curled up. He was the only kitten, but Jason knew he belonged to one of the cats that had made the alley their home. His drunken mind had thought it was a good idea to look for the kitten’s mom.

That was a bad idea.

He walked down a bit farther and found what he guessed was the mom. Dead. That sobered up, well almost, his head and made him think.

_This cat doesn’t have anyone. It won’t survive without its mom._

He knew later in the morning, when he saw the kitten curled up in a new box in one of Jason’s shirts, two things. One, he was never taking shots of a drink he didn’t know ever again because his head hurt like a bitch. Two, he’d made a silly comparison between himself and this orphaned kitten, so now he didn’t have the heart to kick the poor thing out.

Later that day when class had finished Tim had come over to see the kitten that Jason had told him about. “How do you expect to take care of a kitten when you can barely take care of yourself?” 

“You really want to start that argument?

“I didn’t want to start an argument, but seriously, can you?”

Jason thought about it. He was in a shitty apartment, he had papers in stacks to grade everywhere, and his fridge was almost empty. Jason looked at the tiny gray kitten curled up in a shoe box that was lined with one of Jason’s t-shirts. This kitten wouldn’t survive on his own, Tim had helped him discover the kitten was indeed a boy, not without his mother anyways. He might not have much, but damned if he was going to put the little guy out on his own to probably share the same fate as his mom.

“I’m looking for a roommate anyways to help with rent, so that will be taken off some. I can’t leave him out there Tim. If I call the animal shelter places who knows what will happen to him.”

Tim sat down next to Jason on the couch. The two were quiet for a while the only noise being the busy streets of Gotham outside and the AC unit in the window.

“You act tough, but you have a kind heart Jason. What are you going to name him?”

“I was thinking Richard.”

“Why Richard?”

“It’s the name of my ex. He went by the nickname Dick. It fit because he was a dick, but so is the kitten. When he wants to play all he wants to do is bite and scratch. He doesn’t deserve the name Dick, but Richard fits.”

Tim looked at him like he was speaking Latin. “You are a complete idiot.”

“It’s a classic name. Like King Richard III or Richard Burbage.”

“Those are both names of book characters.”

“You can’t say shit Mr. ‘name him Blue Star from Warriors’.”

Tim nudged Jason’s leg with his foot and frowned. “Firestar is the best book character there is.”

“One, expand your literary library to more than something you read as an even smaller boy. Two, get your dirty shoes off my couch.”

“Even smaller?”

Jason lifted up Tim’s wrist and circled the wrist with his thumb and finger. His pointer finger overlapped his thumb by almost an inch. He shook Tim’s wrist making his hand flop around and Tim himself to giggle. “You are so small and thin. You need less coffee and more food. Not granola bars either. You know what sounds great right now? A nice hearty steak, a loaded baked potato and asparagus.”

Tim just smiled and pet Richard, who had now curled up in his hoodie, smiling at how stupid and sweet his boyfriend was.

 

Jason was pulled out of his thoughts by now the fully grown Richard jumping off the bed and trying his best to sneak past Jason to get out the window. “Oh no you don’t I don’t need you running off again.” Jason picked up the cat and put him on the cat tree on the other side of the room.

Fuck, Jason missed Tim a lot. He made a mental note to talk to Diana about getting Friday off to go see him. He was sure he was going to be able to do so since Diana loved him. He didn’t want to toot his own horn, but he was Diana’s favorite.

Jason made sure the window was closed before he grabbed his cup and went to the small kitchen to get more milk. If he could do nothing but live off of bread and milk he would, but he also couldn’t deny that that steak he had mentioned to Tim still sounded really good. He was chugging the milk from the jug when he felt a small tug on his pants. Looks like he was done with the milk since there was something much more important that needed his attention.

“What’s up Lili-bug?”

Lian Harper was looking up at Jason with her cute innocent face. Her black hair was all short and messy like she had just rolled out of bed, which she probably did. She rubbed one of her eyes sleepily as her other hand still held onto Jason’s pant leg.

 “Dad said not to drink from the jug. We need to drink milk too.” She yawns softly. “He says it’s important for people.”

Jason picked up the sleepy five year old and let her sit on his hip while he put the milk jug away. She was fairly light and he was very used to holding her. Roy was Jason’s best friend. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for him, he had already proved that when he got into a bar fight because Roy didn’t know how to shut his big mouth. Roy’s Ex was nuts and had ended up going to jail for attempted murder, leaving Roy messed up, alone, and with a, at the time, three year old daughter. Jason was skeptical at first, letting him move in with him with Roy’s history of drinking issues, but he’d also seen how much he cared for his little girl and still trusted the Roy Harper he’d known in school. Two years later, Roy was cleaner than he had been in years, in school online to get his business degree, working downtown at the Arrow restaurant as a bar tender, and loved the hell out Lian, treating her like a princess. Which Jason would agree because she did rule their tiny apartment. She had two of the toughest guys in Gotham wrapped around her little finger and she knew it.

“Milk is important but your dad also forgot to do the dishes. If I give you a cookie will you keep it a secret between the two of us?”

Lian leaned against Jason’s shoulder and messing with the string of his hoodie. “Make it two and you have a deal.”

“You drive a hard bargain Lili-bug, but not an unfair price.” He got the cookie jar from the top of the fridge and let her pick out two snickerdoodle cookies from the jar before putting it back. He tried so hard ignore the sugary crumbs that were collecting on his shoulder from where she inhaled the cookies and still managed to make a mess. “Your dad still asleep?”

“Mhm. He’s sleepy from his paper stuff. Hey, Uncle Jay, can we make dad that stuff he likes? Not the stuff that smells bad, but the stuff that is all pink and pretty.”

“You mean the strawberry banana smoothies? I don’t have the stuff to make those right now, but we can make him some coffee so he can stay up and finish his paper stuff.”

Lian made a grossed out face because she thought that coffee was just dirt that was heated up with water. Roy needed to finish his work if he didn’t and help Lian with hers if he wasn’t too tired. She was only in pre-k, but she liked to color. Their fridge was a colorful display of various works of art by Lian Harper to prove it. Jason walked into Roy and Lian’s room and found the red head sprawled out on the bed snoring loudly. His laptop open to his almost completed homework.

“Harper wake up.” Jason shook Roy until he woke up and wiped the drool off his cheek. “Dude you need a shower.”

“Gotta finish stuff…help Lian…?”

Lian giggled. Jason just rolled his eyes and put the warm cup of coffee into Roy’s hands. “Lili-bug is fine, drink, finish your shit, and then shower.”

Roy frowned, but drank the coffee anyways before getting up and stretching out his body before taking his kid from Jason’s arms. “Language Jaybird. There’s a kid in the room.”

“Harper, she’s heard worse in her school at five years old than she will ever hear come out of my mouth in front of her, so she is fine.”

“Some kid said a bad word at school and the teacher sent them to the office. Uncle Jay needs to go to the office.”

“She’s not wrong I need to go talk to Diana before this weekend.”

“What’s this weekend?” Roy asked as the plugged his dying laptop in and let Lian sit next to him to play with her action figures, which of course all had tutus.

“I told Tim I would drive up and see him for the weekend. Apparently, he has a case of Boyfriend blues.”

“So do you Jaybird. If I have to hear you alone in the shower one more time because he’s not here I think I’ll go insane.”

He was a mortal man with mortal man needs and a lack of his equally mortal boyfriend to help with those needs. No one really had the right to judge him for that. So what if he missed Tim? It wasn’t like he could hop over to Tim’s place like he used to and see him, he was four hours away. Jason didn’t have the time every weekend to spend the eight plus hours to go see him. To say he wasn’t excited to see him would be like to say Roy Harper didn’t have bright red hair.  

He looked at his watch and saw it was already 3pm and Diana was only in her office until 5. He could call her, but he also needed to turn in the graded essays he had finished. He also needed to talk about the kids he suspected of cheating, but he would save that until he had already gotten the permission to skip his office hours on Friday to go see Tim. He made sure Roy was okay enough to finish his work and take care of Lian before he packed his backpack and got his bike helmet and keys from the counter and headed off to the University.

When he got to Diana’s office she was at her neat desk looking at emails on her computer. Jason always liked being in her office. Some professors just had pictures of their kids everywhere and never turned off the too bright florescent lights. Diana’s office was all natural light and warm colors. Even as the sun was getting ready to set she didn’t turn on the bright lights. Instead she had a 40’s looking lamp in the corner next to where she always had a case of water and snacks for students. Bookshelves dominated the room. If there wasn’t any book, which was rare, to fill that space there was a Greek or Roman artifact carefully poised to show its most beautiful angle. It was a very welcoming old feel type of space and Jason aspired to have an office like that if he ever got his own house, or even could afford his own apartment with an extra room for an office. He knocked on the door and Diana looked up from her computer, smiling at whoever it was that entered her office, expecting a student, but it was just Jason.

“Jason, I didn’t expect you today.”

“I had something I needed to ask and turn in these essays for the first class that are graded.”

Diana leaned back in her chair forgetting the email she had open on her computer to give her grader her full attention. “Question first, essays can wait.”

_She knows about the cheaters already_. Thought Jason as he set his bag and helmet down onto the floor next to the chair in front of her desk. “You remember Tim right?”

“Jason, how long have you been my grader and student?”

“Almost three years.”

“When have I ever forgotten something like that? Yes Jason, I remember Timothy, your boyfriend.”

Jason felt stupid. Of course, Diana remembered, she had the memory of a full library. That and when they first started dating, Jason could not shut up about the adorable things that Tim had done on their dates, but still Jason for some reason had to ask. “Right.”

“Is everything okay Jason? Did something happen between you two?”

“No not at all we are great. I just…. I hate asking for time off, but we are both kind of hurting from not being able to see each other, with him being in MTU and me stuck here in Gotham. We want to get together this weekend at his dorm to have some time together, but we want to spend the whole weekend together. I don’t have classes on Friday…”

“But you do have office hours.” Diana seemed more amused than agreeing that he had the obligation of his office hours to her students that he graded for. She didn’t seem upset at all as she gave Jason a small smile. “Jason, in the years of your being my student and grader you have never missed class or office hours.”

“There was that one time when I was in the hospital.”

“You still tried to tell the EMTs that you had to get to class after you had passed out in your apartment. My point is Jason that you have all the right to ask for this personal time to see Timothy. I’ll send out an email to my classes that your office hours on Friday are canceled for this week. I’m interested to see what some write when they don’t have your master writing skills to help them.”

Jason couldn’t help but smile and relax in his chair. Diana was the best person ever. He could leave when he wanted to on Friday and maybe even surprise Tim by showing up early. “I’m guessing you’re aware that some students are not writing their own stuff.”

“I have been informed by another student that there was the possibility that some other students were plagiarizing on their essays.”

“I was grading the essays for 1305 and I started thinking I had gone nuts after I read the same idea four times in a row.” Jason pulled his grading book out of his bag and showed her the essays that he was talking about. “They didn’t even bother to try and at least site the source where they had gotten the essay. Four different students, each with the exact same intro and conclusion.”

Diana looked at the essays and sighed. “I’d hate to have these kids expelled because of them being stupid on something as easy as this. I’ll talk to them. Great job though Jason.”

Jason wouldn’t say he lived for approval, he would never ever say that to anyone or even entertain the idea, but her ‘good job’ made him feel great. They talked for a bit and Jason went home an hour later, happy that he had done a good job and could tell Tim that they could plan to do stuff on Friday.

He couldn’t wait to see Tim.


	3. Sorry

I have been working on the next chapter but I’ve recently broken both my wrists in an incident so typing is hard. Sorry please bear with me it might be a few month before I can use them well enough again. Thanks

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter of what will be a story of their relationships. 
> 
> Editor: Fatesinmay, who is a wonderful person who I owe pushing me to finally post this mess and the mess that will fallow.


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